Rock Hill-Panthers development pause has people, businesses in SC’s York county worried
When Nick Peñaloza found out that the Carolina Panthers were building a new headquarters in Rock Hill, he and his wife Cailtlin decided to open a local coffee shop less than a mile away.
They opened Forte Legato Coffee in February 2020, and since then, their business has been fairly slow — in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But they figured the new jobs the Panthers would bring would also bring additional customers looking for coffee to their business.
However, last month, Tepper Sports & Entertainment stopped construction at the 240-acre property because of a disagreement between the city and the company. The stoppage and silence from owner David Tepper has some wondering whether the Panthers will move their headquarters elsewhere.
And what once seemed like a great business opportunity for Nick and Caitlin, now has them trying to figure out how else they can increase their customer base.
“The last month has just been weird, because I think, from a business perspective and a taxpayers perspective, we don’t know who’s really doing what or not doing what,” Peñaloza said.
Tepper Sports & Entertainment contends that the City of Rock Hill has been “unable to contribute the agreed upon investment to fund the construction,” of the project. The city said it had.
The Rock Hill Herald reported that city manager David Vehaun said at a March city council meeting that the Panthers slowed Rock Hill’s ability to issue the $225 million in bonds. Vehaun said before Rock Hill could issue the bonds, the city needed specific details from the Panthers, such as development and financial plans, to provide to potential investors, and the Panthers weren’t submitting enough details, the Herald reported.
The city, county and representatives for TS&E met to discuss how they could make things work. The three sides talked about an alternative payment.
But since that meeting, Tepper has gone silent. And some politicians and residents are worried that he’ll pack his things up and leave. A worse case scenario is Tepper suing the city and county.
“At this point it’s dead in the water,” York County councilman Bump Roddey said. “Not saying anything, actually is saying a whole lot.”
Said York County councilman Brandon Guffey: “Being on the county level, I’m not sure whether the city is right or the Panthers are right. What I do know is we don’t want to get caught up in a legal battle, trying to figure that out over the next 15 years, or however long that takes.”
Tepper has not said whether will agree to a deal. If he doesn’t, then the current deal stands and the City of Rock Hill has to come up with the $225 million in bonds it was supposed to issue.
‘Yes for an answer’
Another issue at hand is that the longer the issue remains unresolved, the less likely it is the facility will actually be built.
South Carolina offered about $115 million in incentives for the Panthers to move their headquarters there from their home at Bank of America Stadium.
However, that agreement has a deadline attached. If the facility is not built by the end of 2024, the state won’t offer any money to the Panthers, giving them little incentive to build there.
Under the county’s resolution, the Panthers would receive incentives for four decades in exchange for completing $225 million of public infrastructure at the site.
South Carolina state senator Wes Climer said Tepper should talk, especially after it appeared that the three sides were satisfied with the alternative agreement. TS&E has not accepted the agreement.
“That’s the perplexing thing,” Climer said. “So far, he hasn’t shown a willingness to take ‘yes’ for an answer.”
Efforts to reach Rock Hill Mayor David Gettys for a comment were unsuccessful.
The facility was supposed to be completed by 2022, then pushed back to 2023. The goal was to have the Panthers hold training camp at the facility in the summer of 2023.
But there have been multiple issues with the site, including slowed construction due to COVID-19, and an unexpected number of rocks at the site.
Impacts on businesses
The Panthers purchased the more than 240 acres off Interstate 77 from the Hutchinson family for more $16 million in March 2020 to build their new home. Tepper also owns the nearby Waterford Golf Club, which is 205 acres.
The Panthers broke ground that year. Tepper, the owner of the Panthers and Charlotte FC, spoke in front of a crowd in Rock Hill and proclaimed that big things were to come.
“They’re going to know Rock Hill for more than Football City, USA,’“ he said at the time, standing next to South Carolina governor Henry McMaster.
The nearly 700,000-square-foot training facility is supposed to include an indoor practice field, and is expected to help promote growth in the surrounding area, while also improving the environment for the team. It will be one of the largest facilities in the NFL, if not the largest, and compete with the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters in Frisco, Texas.
The Observer toured the facility, nicknamed “The Rock,” in August 2021. At the time, 340 workers were on-site to help build the facility. As many as 800 were expected to be there at one time.
But on a visit last week, the only thing on the site was a half-built structure and piles of dirt. There were security guards, guarding both entrances to the site.
The general contractor for the site, Barton Malow, declined to comment, and referred questions to the Panthers, who also declined to comment.
The headquarters is also supposed to be a sports-and-entertainment venue with the potential to hold a variety of events, including soccer games, high school sports championships, corporate events and concerts.
McMaster told reporters in Greenville, S.C. earlier this week, that he’s spoken to Tepper about the situation, who explained to him why they paused construction, and the issues he was having with the City of Rock Hill. But he said he hoped everything would get worked out.
“We’re ready to go,” McMaster said. “The state has done its part and we want to encourage everyone to resolve whatever differences there are, and let’s get moving.”
But it’s unclear that will even happen now.
There’s a chance the facility may not get built in Rock Hill.
For local business’ like Forte Legato, that means altering their plans.
“If the Panthers don’t come, okay, we’ll figure something out,” Peñaloza said. “Maybe find a new location that will bring us better business or, maybe they will come. But it just means we’re just waiting and trying to find out what are the real impacts for small businesses?
“Because I don’t think that’s clear.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2022 at 6:07 AM with the headline "Rock Hill-Panthers development pause has people, businesses in SC’s York county worried."
